A Rough Guide to Ordering Local Coffee in Singapore

On different occasions, I brought two of my caucasian friends to a local coffee shop, Hugh Mason and Charles Harbottle. While they both enjoyed the local coffee (I ordered Gao for both of them), I realized it must be extremely difficult for them to order any other variation from a straight up Kopi or Kopi O.

Photo (c) Danesh Daryanani

So, this post is dedicated to Hugh and Charles, and all other foreigners or visitors to Singapore. Hope this helps.

Local Terms

Meaning

Equivalent

Kopi-0

Black Coffee with Sugar

Long Black with Sugar Added

Kopi

Black Coffee with Condensed Milk

None – be mindful that the condensed milk is sweet

Kopi C

Black Coffee with Evaporated Milk

None

Kopi Kosong

Black Coffee without sugar or milk

Long Black – no added sugar

Kopi Gah Dai

Black Coffee with extra condensed milk

None – very sweet!

Kopi Siew Dai

Coffee with Condensed Milk but less sugar

None

Kopi O Siew Dai

Black Coffee with less sugar

Long Black – about half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of sugar

Kopi Po

Coffee with Condensed Milk but weaker (they add more water)

None really

Kopi O Po

Black Coffee with Sugar but weaker (they add more water)

Americano with sugar and hot water added

Kopi Gau

Strong Coffee with Condensed Milk

None

Kopi O Gau

Strong Black Coffee with Sugar

Like a triple expresso with sugar

Kopi Peng

Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk

None

Kopi O Peng

Iced Black Coffee with sugar

Iced Americano

Kopi Gau Peng

Strong Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk

None

Kopi O Gau Peng

Strong Black Coffee with Sugar

Iced Triple Expresso with Sugar

Kopi Kosong Peng

Iced black coffee without sugar

Iced Americano without Sugar

Kopi Gau Kosong Peng

Iced Strong Black coffee without Sugar or milk

Iced triple expresso without sugar

OK, this is not a comprehensive list but you get the idea. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to rattle off the words in the right combination to get exactly what you want.

Some terminology that will help you order the coffee you want:

Gau – Strong

Kosong – No Sugar, No Milk

Siew Dai – Reduced Sugar

Peng – Iced

Gah Dai – Extra Condensed Milk

Po – Weaker or Thinner Coffee (more water, in other words)

C – With evaporated milk instead of condensed milk

Note 1: Skim milk is still not an option (i.e. no Skinny Kopi)

Note 2: The above works for tea as well. Replace Kopi (Coffee) with Teh (Tea)

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41 Responses to “A Rough Guide to Ordering Local Coffee in Singapore”

Danesh, matey, I think of you every time I walk into a Kopitiam and I always will 🙂

Anyone ordering any of the above for the first time should watch the process of making coffee here too as it’s almost as entertaining as the beverage. I’ll won’t spoil the fun of that but will just tease by saying that it involves a sock and a skilled two-handed technique (and is nothing like as kinky as that sounds)

Be sure to visit the food halls in the nicer department stores for some 'souvenirs' such as jars of jams, jellies, teas, tins of smoked fish and meat, chocolates and even ready-to-eat foods like fancy sandwiches. Harrods, Fortnum and Selfridges are the better known ones. Bon voyage!

A most excellent resource! Most of this is new to me despite having grown up in Singapore.

Now, what’s the local word for the way I take my tea now: decaff black tea steeped for 2 minutes in just boiling water, with no sugar and only a splash of fresh semi-skimmed milk, and with the milk poured in first…?

Thanks for this! Living in Singapore now for the longest time I just ordered “Kopi” but I never liked how sweet it was but didn’t know how to order something different. Now I can get my Kopi Kosong!

One note though, a lot of the Kopi shops I go to have corrected me saying it is Kopi-O-Kosong for black coffee with nothing added, whereas others served me just black when I ordered Kopi Kosong. I guess where you go some places know it as Kopi-O-Kosong and others just Kopi Kosong.

I’m glad you found this useful. Kosong literally means zero/empty so technically Kopi Kosong should nab you a black coffee. To be safe though, I’d order Kopi-O Kosong in case I get coffee with milk if I say Kopi Kosong (unlikely though).

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[…] Kopi vs Coffee Kopi is the local coffee and is served in any kopitiam (or kopi tiam) which literally means coffee shop. By ordering kopi, you get a cup of coffee with condensed milk, which is a very different taste from what an Italian coffee drinker like myself is used to. But if well made, it’s a very easy taste that grows on you. Condensed milk is sweet and the kopi has a velvety texture to it. If you don’t like this version, there are real guides on the internet on how to order coffee in Singapore, which is very helpful, like this one by Daneshd. […]